Tag: 04.10.00

Science is changing our moral world. In turn, artists respond to its discoveries and challenges. “The ‘artistic’ culture differentiates itself from the scientific culture by cherishing the individual gesture and scribble, and very often by characterising itself as the subversive, the destabilising, the contrary.” – New Statesman

“We’ve been dallying with ‘simple’ for almost a decade. Not the simplicity of Ralph Waldo Emerson reflecting on nature in his barely furnished cabin by Walden’s Pond, mind you, but rather the dumbed-down simple espoused by the phenomenally successful “For Dummies” franchise, which reduces everything, from Wagner to Dadaism, to Grade Five-level comprehension. Or the sweet, witless simplicity advocated in the best-seller Simplify Your Life: A Little Treasury by Elaine St. James. Simple has even become a fashion statement, a design choice.” – National Post (Canada)

A new for-profit online education venture featuring partners including Columbia University, the Smithsonian, the British Library, Cambridge University Press and the London School of Economics promises something new. The venture “will go beyond traditional course offerings, by integrating content from museum exhibitions, lectures, reference books, interviews, and documents – from Frank Lloyd Wright interviews to a multimedia-infused presentation of the Magna Carta.” – Wired

Reviving an ancient rivalry, Beijing and Shanghai are competing for the title of China’s cultural capital. Both cities’ cultural scenes are thriving, and both cities are spending lavishly on new arts centers. Shanghai boasts a new art museum, antiquities museum, Grand Theater, and one of the world’s largest libraries; Beijing just broke ground on a glitzy new $420-million National Theater. “Ultimately, the question is whether Shanghai’s money will win out over Beijing’s moxie.” – Time (Asia)